During morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on Thursday, Pope Francis spoke of God’s love and encouraged the congregation to allow themselves to be “embraced by God’s mercy.”
The Holy Father based his homily on a passage from Isaiah in which we are told that God chose His people out of love. He explained that he chose them “not because they were big and powerful but because they were the smallest and most wretched of all.”
He compared God’s love to that of a mother or father when they speak to their child after he or she has woken after a nightmare. Just as our parents reassured us saying “don’t be scared, I’m here,” so God says “do not be afraid of your sins, I love you; I am here to forgive you.” “This is the mercy of God,” the pope explained.
Pope Francis exemplified the extent of God’s mercy by referring to the passage in Matthew in which Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
He went on to say “we are all so nervous when something does not go to plan; we scream and shout, we are impatient… He, however, says ‘Calm down; yes, you’ve made a mistake but don’t worry, don’t be afraid. I forgive you.’”
The pope concluded by inviting those present to ask God to “renew in all people faith in our Father and in his mercy.”
